Teacher Files Negligence Lawsuit After Concrete Truck Strikes School Bus Causing Injury
A pre-K teacher aide was seriously injured after a concrete truck crashed into a school bus in Texas. She has since filed a personal injury lawsuit against the truck company, F.J.M. Concrete, and the company’s driver. The plaintiff and her husband are seeking over $1 million to cover medical care expenses, loss of earnings, and other damages they have incurred since surviving the crash.
According to the lawsuit, the school bus was returning from a field trip to the zoo when the crash occurred. The bus was heading west on SH 21 when the concrete truck veered into its lane and struck the front of the bus, forcing it to roll over. The bus was carrying 44 pre-K students and 11 adults, including the plaintiff.
The plaintiff was severely injured in the crash. She sustained at least four broken bones in her back and multiple other serious injuries. According to her lawsuit, she will be out of the classroom for a considerable period of time before she is fit to return. Two others died in the crash including a 5-year-old student.
The lawsuit contends that the concrete company negligently hired and employed the driver of the concrete truck who had no business being behind the wheel of such a large vehicle. The concrete truck’s driver was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide. He admitted to investigators that he had smoked marijuana the night before the crash, only got three hours of sleep, and used cocaine prior to going to work. Court documents show that the driver had at least three prior instances of testing positive for illegal drug use and being treated by a substance abuse professional.
According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, the company knew about the driver’s drug history and allowed him to continue to drive, so they are also liable under the theory of negligent entrustment.
Understanding negligent entrustment
A driver of a vehicle isn’t generally liable for a crash. The owner of the vehicle is. So, even if the vehicle is being driven by another party, the owner is liable for any crash that might occur. This applies to both individuals and companies. If you loan your car to your child and they cause a traffic accident, you as the owner are liable for that accident. The same holds true for this company. They entrusted a massive multi-ton vehicle to an individual with a history of drug abuse who was ultimately on drugs the day he caused a fatal accident that took the life of a 5-year-old boy and severely injured a pre-K teacher. The concrete company is responsible, as the owner of the vehicle, for whom they entrust their truck with. In this case, they entrusted it to the wrong person.
Talk to a Tulsa, Oklahoma Commercial Truck Accident Lawyer Today
Injured in an accident with a commercial vehicle? Call the Tulsa personal injury lawyers at Levinson Law, P.C. today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help.
Source:
tpr.org/news/2024-04-06/teacher-in-hays-cisd-bus-crash-sues-truck-driver-company-for-depraved-gross-negligence
